OSHA fines three companies at Hyundai megasite following worker death

*Editor’s note: The video above is from previous coverage of this story.

BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Three companies at the Hyundai megasite have been fined a collective $27,618 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the death of worker Sunbok You in March.

You, 45 years old, died March 21 on the Hyundai megasite after being run over by a forklift. A Bryan County Sheriff’s Office report said after the accident, You’s body was “laying behind the forklift” and that there was “a blood trail approximately 10-15 feet long.” Photos of the scene show You’s body was severed from the waist up, laying in front of a forklift labeled “Hyundai.” The driver of the forklift was identified in a police report as Sunhwam Bae.

OSHA investigation and penalties

OSHA opened an investigation into HL-GA Battery Company, SBY America, Beyond Iron Construction, and Steel Brothers Development following You’s death. Three of those companies received fines.

Beyond Iron Construction received the largest fine of $16,550. OSHA found the company exposed employees to “struck-by and crushing hazards” and did not ensure forklift operators were following traffic regulations, including speed limits, use of spotters, and horn use when vision was obstructed.

SBY America was fined $9,268 for exposing employees to “struck-by and crushing” hazards, which were likely to cause serious injury or death.

HL-GA Battery Company received a $1,800 fine for failing to submit required work-related injury or illness forms to OSHA.

Pattern of safety incidents

You was not the first person to lose his life during construction of the EV plant and its suppliers. In April 2023, Victor Gamboa died on the megasite after falling 60 feet to his death.

Bryan County EMS records show in a 16-month period, there were 53 calls for services at the site, including over a dozen for traumatic injuries. That includes another forklift accident and a worker being caught in a conveyor belt.

In March, prior to You’s death, a construction worker on the site went to the hospital after being seriously injured in a pipe explosion.

In May 2025, 27-year-old Allen Kowalski died on the HL-GA Battery construction site after a metal frame fell on him.

OSHA has opened at least 15 investigations into incidents at the site, including You’s death and the March pipe explosion.

Connection to ICE raid

Four of the companies investigated by OSHA were among six companies ICE named in the search warrant they obtained to raid the megasite in September. In that raid, which HSI called the largest single-site enforcement operation in the agency’s history, 475 workers were detained.

ICE said the detained workers were employees not just of HL-GA Battery Company but a network of various subcontractors.

The legal status of You and Bae has not been confirmed.

Company and state response

At the time of You’s death, HL-GA Battery Company said expressed “deepest condolences to the family, friends and coworkers of the deceased” and was “offering support services and are reinforcing safety protocols.”

Governor Brian Kemp refused to give an interview about safety issues on the project, saying “We have an open investigation or those open investigations on those so I wouldn’t want to speak to those right now.”

Local contractor presence

As of March, 12 subcontractors on the site had Coastal Empire addresses. Of those 12, only four were established local companies. The rest of the companies were formed less than three weeks before groundbreaking on the plant or after groundbreaking.